AUSTRALIAN TRADITIONS

Folklore

The time period when only Aboriginal people resided in Australia- prior to the invasion of the Europeans- is known as Dreamtime, a term used to describe the mystical time when the Aboriginal people established their world. The myths are seen as being absolutely truthful and inhabit everyone in the Australian culture. These myths are comparable to the American mythology and explain the creation of natural things such as the sun. The Aboriginal Dreamtime is part of the culture that explains the origins of the people and of the land. Dreamtime includes a story of how things have happened, how the universe came to be, how humans were created, and how the Creator intended for humans to function in this world. Essentially, Dreamtime is the Aboriginal Religion and Culture


Clothing

Due to the mild weather, Australians tend to wear light clothing. In the workplace , people dress to stay cool : their outfit consists of long socks and tailored shorts instead of slacks. People dress stylishly in the city and in the workplace, but tend to dress down in jeans and sneakers for the weekends .

Children must wear uniforms at school and sunscreen all year round. Having a suntan is a sign of foolishness because Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world.


Food

Seafood is abundant and popular in Australia along with large portions of meat, such as beef or lamb roasts. Australia also is known for its wonderful fruits and vegetables.

The wine industry is prevalent in the south of the country. A typical day of meals for Australians could look something like the following:

Breakfast: cereal and toast or eggs and bacon

Lunch: sandwiches, salad, and fruit

Main Meal: meat or seafood with vegetables, dessert.

Traditional Australian foods :

Vegemite: black spread made from yeast extract plus salt and is spread on toast or sandwiches. Children are brought up eating it from babyhood.

Meat Pie: approximately 260 million meat pies are eaten by Australians every year

Pavola: dessert with a soft meringue with fruit and cream filling

Lamingtons: sponge cake cube desserts coated with chocolate and coconut


Meat_Pie-2.jpg Meat pie


ig0809_pavola_lg.jpgPavola


Lamingtons-Photos-2.jpgLamingtons


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RELIGIONS

Although Australia is considered a Christian country, there are a variety of religions that can be found here. The question about a person's religious affiliation has been asked on every census taken in Australia.

Religious Affiliations in Australia



2006
2001
Total Christian

63.9%

68.0%

12,685,829

12,764,342

... Roman Catholic

... Anglican

... Uniting Church in Australia

... Presbyterian and Reformed

... Orthodox

... Baptist

... Lutheran

... Pentecostal

... Other Protestant

... Oriental Orthodox

25.8%

18.7%

5.7%

3.0%

2.7%

1.6%

1.3%

1.1%

3.7%

0.2%

26.6%

20.7%

6.7%

3.4%

2.8%

1.6%

1.3%

1.0%

3.6%

0.2%

5,126,884

3,718,250

1,135,423

596,668

544,162

316,740

251,108

219,689

736,004

40,901

5,001,624

3,881,162

1,248,674

637,530

529,444

309,205

250,365

194,592

675,422

36,324

Buddhist

2.1%

1.9%

418,753

357,813

Muslim

1.7%

1.5%

340,397

281,578

Hindu

0.7%

0.5%

148,123

95,473

Jewish

0.5%

0.5%

113,876

98,125

Other Religions

1.2%

0.5%

242,848

92,369

No Religion

18.7%

15.5%

3,706,556

2,905,993

Unknown

11.2%

11.6%

2,223,959

2,187,688

Total Population

100.0%

100.0%

19,855,293

18,769,249

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